The Nice carnival is riding the wave of “the year of the sea” with a free opening parade

With its carnival which opens this Saturday under the aegis of Neptune, the city of Nice (Alpes-Maritimes) enters its “year of the sea” which will culminate in June when the French Riviera capital will host the third United Nations Summit for The ocean. Beyond the carnival, the whole city wants to turn to the great blue with various cultural, artistic and theatrical events.

But from this Saturday, it is indeed a king who looks like a sailor God and a queen mermaid who will enthroned for two weeks in the city center, where the parades and battles of carnival flowers attract more than 200,000 spectators each year. This king and this queen were presented to the Niçois on Wednesday in the Riquier district, a folk and popular moment to launch the first festivities.

Behind them, the other tanks will decline the theme, from Bob in the towel to the na’vi of the saga Avatar from Commander Cousteau to the defender of the Wales Paul Watson, to a work by the Nice artist Sylvian The Fish Man, who worked from the waste recovered at sea. Last year, pop culture had been honored.

Six carnival corsos on the theme of the seas and oceans are scheduled until March 2 as well as four flower battles, which run part of the Promenade des Anglais, where a forum is now installed.

Opening parade on avenue Jean-Médecin

New this year, the Nice carnival will open at the beginning of the afternoon by a large free parade and open to all on avenue Jean-Médecin, which leads to Place Masséna. This “carnavalina” will start at 1 p.m. to end around 3 p.m. and replace the traditional afternoon opening corso. Nearly 300 people from associative environments must parade between drums, giant fish, flying jellyfish and hippocampal. The evening inaugural corso remains maintained at 8:30 p.m.

This new event is a way for the organization of responding to repeated criticisms of a closed and paid carnival, a petition having been launched for the withdrawal of the black palisades surrounding the area of ​​the parades. But the municipality also recalls the important security constraints and that access to corsos is free if you come entirely disguised. An important police device is planned again this year. Carnival activities are also organized in different districts of the city throughout the fortnight.

The Nice carnival remains one of the most famous in the world with those of Rio and Venice and generates major economic benefits estimated at nearly 35 million euros by the community, which resumed the event in 2019 in 2019 .^e edition.

This weekend will also start on the side of Menton 91^e Edition of the Lemon Festival on the theme of “Travels in the Stars”. The event is also spread over fifteen days when “agreed” tanks are honored. In Mandelieu-la-Napoule, the Mimosa festival ends this Sunday.